Wei Xuan was the Great Zhou’s famed woman warrior, undefeated in battle.
When she was sixteen, every member of the General’s household was killed in battle, leaving her the sole orphan. The empress wanted to find her a suitable match so she could live in peace, but Wei Xuan only wanted to join the army and avenge her family.
The soldiers in the camp all looked down on the newly arrived general.
Wei Xuan said, “If you doubt me because I’m a woman, I’ll fight every person in this camp one-on-one, until you’re convinced.”
Everyone despised her from the bottom of their hearts. Even the Third Prince, Xie Yan, who served as her deputy, didn’t believe that this young woman, several years his junior, was capable of leading them.
In the end, though, they all acknowledged her. She was more capable than any of them, and she had a strategic mind. She was unquestionably worthy of being a general.
What do you do when the enemy general is an old acquaintance? Wei Xuan: Beat him all the same.
After returning victorious, Wei Xuan voluntarily relinquished her military command. By then, Xie Yan had become crown prince.
Xie Yan wanted Wei Xuan to be his crown princess, but she politely declined, then fled to Yangzhou that very night.
Wei Xuan: “I can tell the difference between being trapped for a while and being trapped for life.”
After the war ended, Wei Xuan became Great Zhou’s first female general and the first woman to be granted a noble title. She opened a shop with a friend and petitioned the emperor to establish a private school for girls.
She was determined to give women across the land the same rights as men, and to show future generations that women were no less capable.
Later, when she heard that Xie Yan had given up the crown prince’s position and was coming to Yangzhou, Wei Xuan fell silent.
Wei Xuan: “If the crown prince doesn’t want the job, could I take his place?”
